Pool-table.



No. 650,775. Patented May 29, |900. J. E. BERKSTRESSER.

PUOAL TABLE.

(Application ledct. 17, 1899.)

(No Model.)

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UNrrEn STATES- PATENT 5 Ormea.

JOHN EMORY BRKSTRESSER, OF MONTEVALLO, ALABAMA.

FOOL-TAL.

sifnctrrcArIoN forming part of Letters Patent No. 650,775, dated May 2e, 1900.

Application lecl October 17,1899. Serial No. 733,915. (No model.)

To @ZZ whom it may concern.'

Be it known that I, JOI-IN EMORY BERK- sTRnssER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Montevallo, in the county of Shelby and State of Alabama, have invented a new and useful Pool-Table Attachment, of which the following is a specilication.

The invention relates to improvements in pool-table attachments.

One object of the present invention is to improve the construction of pool-table attachments for collecting the balls after the same have been pocketed and to provide a simple and comparatively inexpensive one adapted to be readily applied to a pool-table and capable of enabling the balls pocketed by'tWo players to be held separate and in position, so that the condition of a game maybe readil ascertained at a glance.

A further object of the invention is to enable the separated balls to be quickly collected after a game has been completed, so that they maybe conveniently replaced on the table for another play.

Another object of theinvention is to enable a cue-ball to be readily separated from the other balls should it become accidentally pocketed and to provide means for indicating whether the pocketed balls are being properly condu ted to the player Who made them.

The invention consists in the construction and novel combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and pointed out in the claims hereto appended.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a plan View of a pool-table provided with an attachment constructed in accordance with this invention, a portion of the table being broken away to show the central ball-receptacle and the tubes or conductors connected therewith. Fig. 2 is a longitudinalsectional view. Fig. 3 is an end elevation. Fig. 4 is a detail View of a portion of the table, showing one of the side pockets. Fig. 5 is an enlarged sectional View of the central ball-receptacle,the section being taken longitudinally of the table. Fig. 6 is a similar View taken at right angles to Fig. 5. Fig. 7 is a detail perspective View of one of the end cut-offs. Fig. 8 is a detail sectional view illustrating the construction of the outer ends of the operating-rods.

kings;

Like numerals of reference designate cor responding parts in all the figures of thedraw- 1 designates outer longitudinal ball-conductors, consisting of semitubular troughs and located at opposite sides of a pool-table 2 and inclining downward from the corner pockets 3 to the side pockets 4 and adapted to conduct balls from the ends of the table to points beneath the side pockets. The side and corner pockets are open at their bottoms to cause the balls pocketed to be deposited in the ball conductors or troughs 1, which are connected with central transverse ball conductors or troughs 5, extending from points beneath the side pockets to a central conical ball-receptacle 6, located beneath the center of lthe table and suitably secured to the same. The inner ends of the transverse ball-conductors communicate with the interior of the central tapering ball-receptacle, at points between the top and bottom thereof, and the bottom 7 of the receptacle 6, which is open, is sufficiently contracted to cause the balls to pass through it one at atime successively.

Extending from the central receptacle to one end of the table and adapted to receive balls from the central receptacle are ball-conductors 8 and 9,consisting,preferably,of semitubular troughs, but the various ball-conductors may-be made of complete tubes or any other construction may be provided. The inner ball-conductors 8 diverge from the central receptacle and extend to the foot of the table and are connected at their outer ends to outer transversely-disposed ball-conductors 10, which are adapted to collect the balls and hold the same in full view of the'players until the game is completed, so that the condition of the game may be ascertainedat a glance at any time. The lower adjacent ends of the outer transverse collecting troughs or conductors 10 communicate with a main basket or receptacle 11, suspended from the adjacent end of the table andadapted to hold the balls when a game is not in progress. The conductors or troughs 10 are provided adjacent to the baskets with cut-offs 12, consisting of levers, each of which is fulcrumed at its rear end at 13 and is provided between its ends with a depending arm 14., having an elastic sleeve of rubber or other suitable IOO material to prevent it from chipping or otherwise injuring the balls. The outer end of the lever is provided with a suitable handle and is adapted to be raised to permit the balls to run into the main basket or receptacle. The other inner longitudinal conductor 9 extends from the central receptacle to a basket orreceptacle 15, located at the head of the table and adapted to receive the cucball of a player should it become accidentally pocketed, the passage of the balls being controlled as hereinafter described.

The lowermost ball of the central tapering receptacle is supported, as illustrated in Fig. 5 of the accompanying drawings, by arms of levers 1G, 17, and 18, which are adapted to be oscillated to cause a ball to drop out of the receptacle at that side and fall into the corresponding inner ball conductor or trough. The lever 16, which is fulcrumed between its ends, controls a central inner longitudinal conductor or trough 19, which extends directlyfrom the central receptacle to the main end receptacle 11 and is adapted to convey during a game a bail to the said receptacle 11, so that it may be respotted when necessary. The lever 17 ,which is constructed similar to the lever 16, controls the passage of balls to the inner ball-conductor 9, and the levers 18, which are fulcru med at their upper ends at opposite sides of the conical or tapering receptacle G, control the passage of balls to the diverging conductors 8. The inner faces of the arms of the ball-supporting levers 16, 17, and 18 are provided with a suitable lining or covering to prevent them from injuring the balls. The side levers 18 are connected at points between their ends to operating-rods 20, which extend to the foot of the table and which have their outerends located at opposite sides of the center of the same, as clearly illustrated in Fig. 3 of the accompanying drawings. The levers 16 and 17 are pivoted attheir upper ends to rods 21 and 22, extending` to the ends of the table, at the center thereof, and each rod is provided at its outer end with a head 23 and is engaged by a coiled spring 21, interposed bctween the head and the table and adapted to maintain the levers in position for supporting the balls. The springs are preferably housed within recesses 25 of the table, but they may be' arranged in any suitable manner, and it will be apparent that by forcing an operating-rod inward its corresponding lever will be oscillated and the passage of the balls from the central receptacle will be controlled.

In order to enable the players to tell readily whether the balls are being delivered to the proper collecting tube or conductor, bells 26 are provided and arranged at points intermediate of the ends of the diverging tubes or conductors 8 and are designed to be of different tones, so that they maybe readily distinguished from each other. Each bell is provided with an operating-lever 27, extending into the adjacent tube or conductor and arranged in the path of the balls, so that the bell will be rung by each of the balls traveling through the tubes, troughs, or conductors, all of which are designed to have suliicient inclination to cause the balls to move at the desired speed and with the necessary force, so that there is no liability of the balls collecting in the diverging conductors at the bell-levers, as might be the case if the balls had not sufficient force to operate the bells.

It willbe seen that the attachment is simple and comparatively inexpensive in construction and adapted to beA readily applied to a pool-table, that it will obviate the necessity ot' the players keeping account of the pocketed. balls, and that it will enable the condition of the game to be readily ascertained at a glance. It will also be apparent that it will enable the balls to be collected without walking around the table and that the main receptacle 11 will hold the balls until they are wanted for play, thereby obviating the necessity of providing racks for the reception of the balls.

Changes in the form, proportion, size, and the minor details of construction within the scope of the appended claims may be resorted to without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of this invention.

What is claimed is 1. A device of the class described comprising a central receptacle, conductors connecting the central receptacle with the corner and side pockets, the diverging inner conductors 8 extending from the central receptacle to one end of the table, the outer transverse conductors 10, located at one end of the table and adapted to collect the balls and communicating with the outer ends of the conductors 8, the outer receptacle 11 arranged at the inner ends of and communicating with the outer transverse conductors 1t, the outer receptacle 15, located at the opposite end of the table, the central longitudinal conductors 9 and 19 connecting the receptacles and -means for controlling the passage of balls from the central receptacle to the conductors leading therefrom, substantially as described.

2. A device of the class described comprising the outer side conductors extending from IOO IID

the corner pockets to the side pockets, a central receptacle, the central transverse con-v of balls from the central receptacle to the conductors leading therefrom, substantially as described.

3. A device of the class described comprising a receptacle designed to be arranged centrally beneath a pool-table and provided at its bottom with an opening, the central longitudinal conductors extending from the cen-4 tral receptacle, the diverging conductors also extending from the central receptacle and located at opposite sides of one of the longitudinal conductors, the levers 16 and 17 located at the inner ends of the longitudinal conductors for controlling the passage of balls to the same, and fulcrumed between their ends on the said receptacle at the bottom thereof, the side levers 18 located at the inner ends of the diverging conductors for controlling the passage of balls to the same, and fulcrumed at their upper ends on the receptacle at the bottom thereof, said levers 16, 17 and 18 having their lower portions converging downward beneath the opening of the bottom of the receptacle, and means for operating the levers, substantially as described.

4. A device of the class described comprising a central receptacle provided at its bottom with an opening, conductors extending from the central receptacle to the corner and side pockets, the diverging inner conductors 8 extending from the central receptacle to one end of the table, the outer transverse conductors 10 communicating with the outer ends of the conductors 8, the outer receptacle 11 arranged at the inner ends of and communicating with the outer transverse conductors 10, the outer receptacle 15 located at the opposite end of the table, the central longitudinal conductors 9 and 19 connecting the receptacles, the levers 16 and 17 located respectively atthe inner ends of the conductors 19 and 9 .and fulcrumed between their ends on the receptacle, the side levers 18 fulcrumed at their upper ends on the receptacle at the bottoln thereof and located at the inner ends of the diverging conductors 8, said levers 16, 17 and 18 having their lower portions converging downward beneath the opening of the bottom of the receptacle, the operating-rods 21 and 22 connected with the upper ends of the levers 16 and 17, and the operating-rods connected with the levers 18 at points between the ends thereof, substantially as described. In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto aiiiXed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

JOI-IN EMORY BERKSTRESSER. W'itnesses:

EDGAR P. ALLEN, BURGEss LITTLE. 

